No 10 backs knighthood for Alan Bates after campaign to expose Post Office scandal
Downing Street has backed calls for former sub-postmaster Alan Bates to receive a knighthood over his decades-long fight for justice for victims of the Post Office scandal.
Rishi Sunak’s spokeswoman said on Wednesday it would be “common sense” to honour the crusading former sub-postmaster - who exposed the Post Office Horizon scandal - after a mass quashing of convictions was announced.
Mr Bates is said to have refused an OBE while former Post Office boss Paula Vennells still held the CBE she received deep into the scandal in 2019.
But MPs and campaigners have called for Mr Bates’ honour to be re-submitted now that Ms Vennells has handed hers back in the face of public outcry.
Cabinet minister Esther McVey said she wants to see Mr Bates knighted “as soon as possible”.
“Anybody can nominate him and I’m quite sure we will see Sir Alan as soon as possible,” the Tory MP told GB News.
The Prime Minister’s press secretary argued that it is “hard to think of someone more deserving of being rewarded through the honours system than him”.
Asked if she agreed about the knighthood with Ms McVey, who is nicknamed the “minister for common sense”, the official said: “That sounds like common sense to me.”
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer is also backing the move.
His spokesman said: “I think Alan Bates clearly has emerged as a hero throughout this for the way in which he has led the campaign, the fortitude and resolve he was shown given everything that has been thrown at him throughout this process.
“Obviously honours have their own independent process, but I’m sure that is something the public would regard as entirely appropriate and we would support.”
Mr Bates worked at a post office in Llandudno and is portrayed by Toby Jones in the new ITV Drama Mr Bates vs the Post Office.
Although he was never accused of theft like many others, he was dismissed from his job after raising concerns about the Horizon system.
For 20 years he's campaigned for people to hear the truth about what happened.
Since 1999, more than 700 sub-postmasters were wrongly prosecuted for theft, false accounting, and fraud, because of a faulty accounting software called Horizon.
Postmasters were asked to hand over their own money to cover the discrepancies.
It wasn't until 2019 that the Post Office acknowledged the problems with the Horizon system and prosecutions began to be overturned.
A public inquiry into the scandal began in 2021.
It was due to be completed by August 2022 but it is still ongoing.
On Wednesday, Mr Sunak announced that a new law would be introduced so people wrongly convicted in the Horizon scandal are "swiftly exonerated and compensated".
Speaking at the start of Prime Minister’s Questions, he said: “Today I can announce that we will introduce new primary legislation to make sure that those convicted as a result of the Horizon scandal are swiftly exonerated and compensated.
“We will also introduce a new up-front payment of £75,000 for the vital GLO (group litigation order) group of postmasters.”
He added: “We will make sure that the truth comes to light, we right the wrongs of the past and the victims get the justice they deserve.”
The legislation will not apply to Scotland and Northern Ireland because they have their own separate legal systems.
Downing Street will work with their governments to ensure sub-postmasters in those nations can also be cleared.
Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To Know…